


Chasing Sunlight

by elpis_in_darkness



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Aobajousai, Aobajousai Hinata Shouyou, Boy's Volleyball Team, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Female Hinata Shouyou, Gen, Girl's Volleyball Team, High School, Hinata Shouyou is a Little Shit, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inarizaki, Inarizaki Hinata Shouyou, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Middle School, Miya Atsumu Being an Idiot, Oikawa Tooru is a Mess, Physical Abuse, Protective Aobajousai Volleyball Team, Shiratorizawa, Tokyo Nationals Arc (Haikyuu!!), Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28165227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elpis_in_darkness/pseuds/elpis_in_darkness
Summary: They called it the monster generation.When a little girl starts to buckle under the pressure of an oppressive home life, she finds salvation in the form of two volleyball obsessed friends and they adopt her to become a close-knit trio.Shōyō Hinata eventually follows her new friends to Aoba Johsei High School and starts on the path to becoming a volleyball superstar, but what happens when the darkness becomes too much and her family is forced to flee?Life takes a sharp turn when her broken family moves across the country. New rivals, new friends, and the continuation of a desperate journey to rise above her limits -- that's what awaits her at Inarizaki High School.When they dubbed them the monster generation, they really had no idea how right they were.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Hinata Shouyou & Tendou Satori, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Hinata Shouyou/Original Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112





	Chasing Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the Haikyuu!! characters or story; however, any original characters and plotlines are my own. Ye have been warned.

> _she was a storm_
> 
> _not the kind you run from_
> 
> _the kind you chase_
> 
> \- r. h. sin

It was a rainy Friday evening when they first met Shōyō Hinata. 

Tohru Oikawa and Hajime Iwaizumi were slogging back to Tohru’s house after a late practice. Both were tired and hungry and couldn’t wait to get into dry clothes. Their coach had been brutal, making every member of the team complete 100 serves before they were allowed to go home for the night. 

“Iwaaa-channn,” whined a soggy Oikawa. “The rain is making my hair all gross! Let me share your umbrella!” He had a point. His normally immaculate hair was hanging limp around his head, making him the picture perfect image of a wet cat.

“Stupid Shittykawa,” replied his best friend. “If you had remembered to bring your own, you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. No way am I sharing.”

The young setter pouted and released an exasperated whine. 

“Nope,” responded Iwaizumi, unswayed, “No way. You can suffer.”

Tohru huffed as more rain streamed from his soaked curls and splattered into his eyes. 

He was definitely annoyed, and he almost smacked Hajime when his friend stopped so suddenly that Tohru nearly fell into a puddle of murky rainwater. 

“Watch it, you ass!” he shouted, as he clumsily sidestepped the small lake. “Why’d you stop all of all of a sudden?”

Hajime didn’t respond. 

Tohru looked at his friend and noticed that he was looking over at the playground they were passing. Hajime had a weird look on his face, like when he was trying to solve a particularly difficult algebra problem. Math was _Tohru’s_ specialty, after all. 

“Iwa-chan?”

“Tohru,” his friend said. That brought him up short. Hajime almost never used his actual name unless he was serious about something. “Look over there, on the bench.” 

He turned towards where his friend was looking. And there, yes, he could see someone sitting on the bench. 

“What are they doing out here in this weather?” he mused quietly to himself. Hajime seemed to hear him anyway.

“No idea, but I think we should check on them.”

Tohru didn’t particularly want to spend extra time outside, but given that he was already drenched and Iwa-chan was right -- whoever they are might be hurt -- he decided to just nod his agreement. 

The two thirteen year olds moved cautiously towards the small form huddled in the dark, neither sure of what to expect. It was definitely not a young girl passed out, alone, and peppered with ugly purple bruises littering her tiny face. 

Iwaizumi pulled in a sharp exhale. “We have to bring her home with us,” he said. 

For a brief moment, Tohru wanted to deny the request. It was his house after all, but taking a second glance at the pitiful little girl, he changed his mind. 

“Here,” Hajime said, “hold my umbrella. I’m gonna carry her on my back.”

Tohru pursed his lips, but silently took the coveted umbrella he’d been begging for only a few minutes ago. It in no way felt like a victory. 

Hajime crouched down low and pulled the tiny bundle of the soaking wet child over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. She didn’t stir and worry settled deeper into both of their stomachs. They needed to get her dry and warm, quickly. 

Without another word, the two boys strode quickly along the wet, darkened street, making their way towards the warm lights of Tohru’s family home. They weren’t quite sure what to do with the kid they’d just effectively kidnapped off the street, but anything was better than just leaving her out in the dark. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Expectedly, Tohru’s mom freaked out when they entered the house looking half-drowned and carrying an unconscious little girl. It was a miracle that her screech didn’t wake the kid up, but she remained oblivious to the chaos her arrival unleashed in the Oikawa household. 

After her initial outburst, Mrs. Oikawa snapped into fix-it mode and took over the care of their little rescue. She ordered Hajime to put her on the couch, and then barked at them to go take warm showers and change into dry clothes. 

Half an hour later, when they came back to the family room, the little girl had been toweled off and changed into some of Tohru’s sister’s old clothes. She had been bundled up in a thick blanket and was still lying unconscious on the couch. The boys looked over at each other in concern, but didn’t say anything. 

Tohru’s mom, seeing them, ushered them to the kitchen and gave them two massive helpings of soup and a plate of fresh onigiri. 

“Eat up,” she said, “I don’t want either of you catching colds.” Then she left them to fuss over their unorthodox guest. “Poor dear,” they heard her murmur as she left the kitchen.

After one last loaded glance, they each turned towards their dinner and filled their growling stomachs. 

Thirteen year old boys needed to eat, after all. 

It wasn’t long after that Mrs. Oikawa returned and shooed them off to bed. 

“You can see her in the morning when she wakes up,” she comforted, knowing the boys wouldn’t say anything but were still worried. “I’m sure she’ll be much better. In the meantime, you two need to take care of yourselves. Go on! Bed.”

It wasn’t until several hours later the boys finally managed to close their eyes, even after a day of hard practice. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The first thing that registered in Shōyō's mind the next morning was warmth. The last thing she remembered was being so cold. _And wet. Can’t forget wet._ It had been raining hard when she ran from the house crying and holding a shaking hand to her bruised cheek. She shouldn't be warm. 

The second thing that registered was light. From beneath closed eyelids, bright sunlight turned her vision a warm red. Huh. 

So she was warm and it was light. Was she dead? Did her soul slip away in the night? 

_(a small, terrifying piece of her hoped. it would be so nice to rest and get away from the oppressive dark of her life. sure, dying kind of sucks, but if it means being warm and safe, who was she to argue?)_

Her brain finally registered the voices. Specifically, two male sounding voices. 

"Be quiet, you asshole!" Boy One whisper-yelled. "Your mom told us to let her wake up on her own, not irritate her into consciousness."

"But Iwa-chaan!" replied Boy Two with a whine, "what if she can't wake up on her own? What if she needs a handsome prince to kiss her first? What if she's under a wicked spell that only I can break?"

Unnoticed by the boys, the little girl unconsciously scrunched her nose up in disgust. 

_(her mom always told her kisses were promises that a person loved you, but she had witnessed her parent’s love. she wanted nothing to do with it. it only led to broken glass and muted sobs and hiding in closets. kisses were only prettily dressed forms of poison.)_

_(people wanted them anyway.)_

The two boys continued to bicker while the subject of their attention was still trying to figure out if she had landed in heaven or hell. After overhearing another ear-grating whine from Boy Two, she concluded it was definitely hell.

She stifled a sigh.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hajime kept glancing towards the kitchen. He knew he should go update Mrs. Oikawa, but he was certain Tohru would do something stupid if left to his own devices -- the burden of knowing the truth of how stupid his best friend actually was. His mental game of decision making ping-pong was decided when he heard the soft rustle of blankets. 

It seemed their stray was finally back in the land of the living. 

Unfortunately, his insane best friend heard the noise too and with all the grace of an overexcited bird, flocked towards the young girl lying on the couch. 

"Oh! Hello! I'm Tohru Oikawa!” he pounded. “And this is my friend Hajime Iwaizumi. We found you last night and brought you home. You've been asleep for forever. What's your name? Why were you out alone in the dark? Did you realize it was raining when you fell asleep? Why do you have a bruise on your face? Does it hurt?"

When Hajime saw the tiny bundle of blankets visibly tense at that last question, he decided to interrupt his friend's latest episode of verbal diarrhea. It would only end badly.

"Oy! Asshole," he interjected hotly, "leave the poor kid alone. She's probably confused." He then turned to face the girl. 

The first thing he noticed was her hair. 

It was a bright copper, with sleep-mussed curls that shone in the sunlight. He'd never seen someone in real life with hair that color. She didn't look Japanese and he frantically wondered if she could even understand them, but then he noticed the subtle asian features that indicated she might be, at least, a _hāfu_ *. 

He was almost immediately proved correct (probably) when she opened her mouth and joined the conversation in easy, unaffected Japanese. 

"Uh, hello. My name is Shōyō Hinata,” she said with a small head bob of formality. Then she turned towards Tohru. “You said I'm at your house?"

_(not dead then, it seems. how mildly disappointing.)_

"Where are we exactly?"

Tohru jumped back into the verbal fray. 

"Don't worry!” He gestured wildly while he spoke and his (now) meticulously styled hair swooshed around in tandem with his flying limbs “We're only a few blocks away from the park we found you in. My mom dried you off and changed you into some of my sister’s old clothes when we brought you here last night. She was super worried about you getting sick."

Tohru had initially been hesitant about bringing a stranger to his house, but now that he had slept (and his hair was back to normal), he felt a deep well of curiosity open up about the little copper-haired girl. He especially wondered about the still prominent bruise on the side of her small, heart-shaped face. While he may be an idiot sometimes, even Iwaizumi would admit that he was actually quite observant. He had catalogued the flinch he'd elicited after the question about how she got hurt and silently elected to leave the subject alone. For now. 

He was really quite mature, he thought to himself proudly. 

Meanwhile, Shōyō was trying to wrap her head around the situation she had found herself in. 

1) She had woken up in a stranger's house after passing out in a park last night. 

2) She was surrounded by two older boys -- one of which didn't seem to have a verbal off-switch

3) She wasn't wearing her clothes because someone had changed her while she was unconscious. 

_(she was warm and dry and could smell something delicious close by.)_

With a mental pang, she realized she hadn't gone home last night. Her parents had no idea where she was. She gulped. 

_(a raised fist. her mother pushing her behind her. her little sister crying.)_

She forcefully turned her focus back to the present. 

Although fairly uncomfortable with having been moved and changed without being aware, she recognized it was better than waking up stiff and cold and sore from spending the night in a public park. She mentally pushed her hesitations away and decided to be grateful; however, she elected to keep her guard up. 

Just in case. 

She decided to start with the most pressing issue, just to test the waters. She chose her most disarming smile, wielding it like the disguised weapon it was. 

"Would you mind pointing me towards a bathroom?" she asked sweetly, making sure to make her grin a little lopsided to make one of her dimples pop. That always seemed to affect strangers in a good way, made them think she was harmless. 

Made them lower their guard. 

The two boys blinked in tandem as the girl's brown eyes warmed and the calculated dimple made its appearance. 

Unknowingly, they both mentally cooed at the adorable image. 

Shōyō continued to smile up at them. This always happened, people falling into an unconscious, momentary daze. She just needed to give them a second. 

Iwaizumi was the first to recover. 

"Sure," he said, faking nonchalance. He was still transfixed with the doll-like angel in front of him "It's the first door on the right when you go down the hall."

He paused. 

"Actually," he continued, a slight dusting of pink appearing on his unaffected facade, "Tohru's mom mentioned you should take a bath when you finally woke up. You were soaked to the bone when we brought you back. I know there's plenty of clean towels in there and I'll let Mrs. Oikawa know you're awake. I'm sure she'll bring you some new clothes."

"Yeah!" Tohru interrupted, "we still have most of my big sister's clothes from elementary school, so we have plenty of stuff that should fit you." 

Shōyō held back the urge to frown. Even though she technically was still in elementary school, she hated when people just assumed. She was in her final year and _was_ nearly twelve. She wasn’t a child -- never really had been -- even if she looked smaller than she was.

Instead of retorting back sharply, like she wanted, she continued to gently beam her sunny, crooked smile towards the two boys. 

"Thank you! I will! It'll be nice to get clean."

She took a moment to untangle herself from the twisted best of blankets and tried hard not to feel embarrassed. Once freed, she nodded her head in another small bow of gratitude and then hustled to find the aforementioned bathroom, trying to not look as frantic as she felt. 

She definitely needed a moment alone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tohru let a small frown settle on his face once he heard the distant _snick_ of the bathroom door close shut. 

There was something off about this girl. His instincts were screaming that their little stray was more feral than they knew. 

From the corner of his eyes, he peeked over at his best friend, wondering if Hajime could see it too, but he saw nothing except honest concern painted across his features. 

_Guess not_ , he thought to himself. _After all, it takes a monster to recognize a monster_. 

He immediately recognized he couldn't bring his thoughts to Iwa-chan. All he can see is the slight, battered child with sunshine-laced hair, but Tohru knew there was something else lurking behind those molten eyes and that disarming smile. 

A predator, his instincts screamed, disguised as prey.

He felt justifiably wary of the girl, but at the same time...his blood raced at the thought of meeting someone else like him. 

Someone with hidden claws and sharp teeth. 

Someone who wore a flawless mask to hide the creature itching and crawling beneath their skin. 

_This could be fun_. 

His frown slowly smoothed over into a slight smirk and he turned towards Hajime, his brutally honest best friend and brother in all but blood. Even at thirteen, Tohru knew he would do anything for his partner in crime, even fight dirty. Hajime knew the flaws in his character and loved him anyway. Accepted it, even. 

And Oikawa knew, even as straightforward as he was, his friend would push his own boundaries to do the exact same if it meant protecting him. 

They knew each other, inside and out. They accepted every broken, ugly facet of each other. 

But Hajime likes to think the best of people. 

And Tohru knew better. 

He already knew he wasn't wrong about this new addition. They had only interacted with the girl for a few moments, but he knew she hid a vicious bite behind that dimpled smile, which only made him want to get to know her. Compare their sharp edges and see whose was sharper, who could cut deeper. 

He was going to make her his friend. 

"Iwaa-chaaan," he affected his signature whine. "Let's go get breakfast and tell mom she's awake."

_I wonder if she likes volleyball_ was the last thought he had before his mind moved on to following the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. And the rumblings of his teenage stomach.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Little did Tohru know, but during his internal character assessment, the little girl in the bathroom was thinking almost identical thoughts about him. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thirty minutes later, she emerged. Her long hair was damp and curling softly at the tips. Slightly-too-large sweatpants puddled around her socked feet as she quietly approached the kitchen, where several voices cheerfully discussed their plans for the day. 

She heard one of the boys mention volleyball and immediately thought back to the one game she had seen. It was last week, while she rode her bike through town, when she passed an electronics store that was airing the high school Spring National Tournament. She couldn’t really understand what was going on, but she had been breathless watching the players fly around the court and smash the ball forcefully to the ground. 

It looked fun.

She took stock of the group of people crowding the space as she entered. 

There were the two boys, Tohru and Hajime, fighting over the remains of some milk bread; a slightly older girl that seemed bored while reading a book, probably Oikawa's sister; and an older woman, who looked nothing like her own mother. She must Oikawa’s mom, the one who had changed her wet clothes last night. 

She donned her gentle, sunny smile and bowed at a forty-five degree angle. 

“Thank you, Mrs. Oikawa, for taking care of me last night. I greatly appreciate your kindness and hospitality in letting me stay.”

The woman smiled back, though concern pulled at the edges of her eyes. 

“Of course, sweetheart. We were all so worried about you. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” She gestured to a seat next to the boys. “Are you hungry? These two imps shovel food down their throats faster than I can cook it, but I made sure to save you something. Come on, come sit down!”

Moving mechanically, she took a chair and tried to show enthusiasm as she tucked into the waiting bowls of rice and miso soup. It wasn’t too challenging, since it was actually delicious. She realized she hadn’t eaten in almost a day. 

It was only a few moments later that the boys, who had been conversing with heads bowed together, turned towards her with bigs smiles plastered on their faces. 

“Chibi-chan!” shouted Oikawa, like an over excited puppy, “we’re planning on going to practice volleyball this morning. Both me and Iwa-chan are on our middle school team. Have you ever played before? I bet you’d love it! Volleyball is the best sport ever!” 

His enthusiasm took her aback so much she forgot to be angry about his new nickname. She bit the inside of her cheek while she tried to figure out how to extricate herself from this spiraling situation, but Tohru’s mother seemed over the moon about the idea. 

“Oh yes!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together like her son had just proposed something truly genius. “I think that would be a wonderful idea. You can all come back for lunch afterwards.”

She looked Shōyō in the eye. The girl tried not to squirm under her Mom Gaze™, the one that promised whatever she was trying to convince of would be _good_ for you and _would_ do it because she said so. 

It was, unfortunately, working on her like a charm.

Smile turning a shade strained, she nodded her head. 

“Of course, that sounds like tons of fun! I would love to come with you, although I’ve never played before so I’ll be in your care.”

She internally grimaced as the boys cheered. 

It was going to be a long day. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  
  


It turned out better than she had anticipated. 

They had managed to find a relatively dry patch of ground at the park from last night. Once the ball was tossed, she was pleasantly surprised by how serious both boys turned. The switch for Oikawa was especially pronounced. 

Gone was the air headed boy and his exasperated compatriot; instead, she saw an eager fire in their eyes that tugged on something in her chest. 

The entire morning was a series of revelations. 

It was incredible watching Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Even with her uninitiated eye, she could tell that they were good for boys their age. While they occasionally had a rogue ball, the morning was an exercise in control and grace. They looked so natural with their movements, and they seemed to be able to perfectly predict each other’s moves. Oikawa’s sets made his hands look like pale, flying birds and every time Iwaizumi hit a (relatively) gentle spike, it was like watching a lion spring towards its prey. 

She felt oddly emotional about it all. 

The boys also turned out to be great teachers. 

They patiently explained the basics of the game, each waving their hands excitedly. Iwaizumi demonstrated how to receive, set, and spike the ball while Oikawa walked her through the movements, gently nudging her limbs into the correct position after each awkward attempt. He was even tactful enough not to mention the ring of bruises on one of her arms.

When it was finally her turn to finally start trying to hit the ball, she thought -- for the second time today -- that she must have died. 

If so, she decided this was unequivocally heaven. 

The moment the ball (perfectly set by Oikawa) hit the palm of her hand, she knew she would be chasing this feeling the rest of her life. Her skin stung from the high velocity contact. Her blood was thrumming in her veins, like it had been charged with lightning and thunder. 

She felt so powerful. 

For one blissful moment, her carefully crafted mask cracked. With a vicious grin stretched across bared teeth pointed skyward, she planted her feet into the soft soil and stood tall. 

To her side, Oikawa smiled in unrestrained glee and stoked the hunger in his eyes a little brighter.

Then surprising everyone, including herself, she let out a delighted whoop and chased it with a peal of delighted, slightly manic laughter. 

_(she felt so alive. her blood was burning burning burning.)_

She reeled back the elation and turned back towards Oikawa, who was still looking at her with his mouth hanging open in shock. 

“Oh, man...this is fun. This is so much fun!” She clapped her hands once then settled into a predatory stillness. Her eyes drilled into matching burning brown. 

“One more!” she demanded.

Her new friend obliged. 

They played for hours and the three settled into an easy camaraderie. Against all odds, Shōyō seemed to click perfectly into their longtime twosome, creating an unanticipated trio that would, over the years, prove to be unbreakable. 

Three monsters in the making.

**Author's Note:**

> Hāfu: is a Japanese term used to refer to an individual born to one ethnic Japanese and one non-Japanese parent. A loanword from English, the term literally means "half," a reference to the individual's non-Japanese heritage. While Japan remains one of the most homogeneous societies on the planet, hāfu individuals are well represented in the media in Japan and abroad and recent studies estimate that 1 in 30 children born in Japan are born to interracial couples. (Source: Wikipedia, which I donate to like a lovesick sap)
> 
> Update (12/21): I'm about a third of the way done with the next chapter, which should sit pretty somewhere around 6,000 words, which is nearly double the length of this first chapter.  
> It'll start with Shoyo's first year of middle school and continue throughout the entire year. We'll be introduced to some new characters that will be awfully familiar, so keep an eye out for the new chapter. It should be done in less than a week. I'm hoping to publish it a few days after Christmas. 
> 
> Cheers, lovelies! Enjoy your holidays!
> 
> (p.s. thank you for all the kudos and the comment(!) I always laughed when other authors talked about how inspiring it was when they received them, but turns out I'm an idiot because they ARE such a good kick in the butt towards getting the next chapter out. You're all the best!)


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